Neither Kevin nor I is particularly athletic, but we do enjoy a quiet game of pool. We would not stand a chance in competition, but one of the delights of pool is that almost any two people can have an enjoyable game provided that they are fairly evenly matched in skill.
Pool halls, of course, have a pretty bad reputation. You expect to find them full of rough guys and sly hustlers, all consuming vast quantities of cigarettes, beer and whiskey. But here in Silicon Valley pool is fast becoming a recreational pastime of choice for high school and college students, and for tired programmers looking for somewhere to wind down after a long day in front of a computer. Our local haunt, the California Billiards Club, is clean, safe and thoroughly civilized. And of course with it being in California, smoking is banned. The Club does serve beer, but it also does some excellent bar food.
The most important thing about any pool hall is the equipment. If you find a pool table in a pub, all too often the cues are warped, the baize ripped and one or more of the balls is missing. A professional club, however, has to provide good equipment, and we were delighted when Billiards Digest rated our local venue as the seventh best pool hall in the country in 1998.
Another thing I really like about the venue is that it has two genuine, full size snooker tables. I really love snooker as a game, but right now neither of us is good enough to play it. Which of course means that we need to keep practicing.
For various reasons we hadn't actually played for several months prior to this visit, and consequently we were both pretty rusty. For the record, I won, 5 frames to 1, which I put down to many hours spent watching Ronnie O'Sullivan play snooker and marveling at how anyone can be so good.
Details of the Club's prices, other facilities and special events can be found on their web site.